Garden of May - Chapter 131
Vanessa did not yield to the temptation immediately this time. Her cheeks flushed hot, and she bit lightly at her reddened lips, but the eyes fixed steadily on him were clearer than they had ever been.
“River Ross.”
One corner of his mouth tilted upward. He already knew that she simply wanted to say his name.
“You’re angry, aren’t you?”
The question struck him squarely in the chest. For a brief moment, he was speechless before a low laugh finally escaped him.
She was a woman who constantly revealed unexpected insight at the strangest moments. At this point, it was almost impressive.
Even so… was he angry? He wasn’t sure. The situation simply felt irritatingly complicated.
Originally, he had never intended to appear before Vanessa tonight at all. Hadn’t he already prepared more than enough safeguards for her sake?
The necklace.
The navy officers quietly trailing at fixed distances.
The crew members strategically stationed everywhere her gaze might fall.
Even the minor inconvenience of arranging a larger, more comfortable cabin for her.
That should have been sufficient. Far more than sufficient, really, for the sake of one woman.
And tonight, he was aboard this ship merely as a naval officer. The invitation sent to the Duke of Battenberg had officially been declined with impeccable courtesy.
Naturally, his real name did not appear anywhere on the passenger list, which conveniently spared the king from the nuisance of attending the departure ceremony himself.
A bizarre display of royal pride, refusing to appear somewhere the duke himself had rejected. Considering how eagerly the king had wanted to board the Bellus, the largest vessel on the continent, it was absurd stubbornness.
Still, from Theodore’s perspective, it worked out better this way. The reason he had boarded the ship in secret had nothing to do with Vanessa. Nor with displaying his status or reputation.
It was purely political and business-related. Every influential family in Ingram was gathered aboard tonight. An opportunity to handle in one place all the work that had been delayed while he remained confined in Gloucester was not something that came easily.
Every second had to be spent like an hour. If everything had gone according to plan, he should have been in a restricted private room right now, meeting alone with the prime minister.
And yet…
He still hadn’t been able to ignore that deathly pale expression on her face, as though he had momentarily let go of her hand.
‘Ridiculous.’
Sometimes, before he even realized it, his eyes drifted toward her.
Watching her darting around third class without realizing she could be seen from the upper deck. Watching her reject luxurious dishes only to nibble on random sweets instead. Watching her crouch on the filthy floor to help her maid.
Every time he checked on her in between conversations with politicians, she was always busy doing something.
And considering she had brought up Logan Dawson earlier despite never noticing he was watching her, perhaps it was fair to admit she possessed sharper instincts than he’d given her credit for.
“Maybe.”
The quiet admission came only after a long silence. The woman’s cheeks flushed even deeper at the answer.
The room was dim, lit only by moonlight spilling through the open porthole. Pale silver light slanted softly across their shoulders.
“Were you worried about me?”
“Worried?”
Slowly, he bent down and gathered the crumpled pages scattered across the floor. His eyes paused briefly on the copied will. Then, following the creases carefully, he folded the papers neatly and placed them atop the console table with effortless precision.
Vanessa watched the motion as though engraving it into memory. Then suddenly, she blushed again.
“…Or maybe not. Lately you’ve been acting strange enough to make me misunderstand things.”
“Strange?”
“Well… you keep looking at me like that.”
“What kind of look?”
Vanessa didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached out and lifted her chin in one large hand. Her pale gray eyes trembled faintly like pinned butterfly wings as they stared back at him.
“When I feel your gaze on me…”
Her voice was barely above a whisper. He leaned closer to hear her better. Their breaths mingled in the narrow darkness between them.
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 152 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 151 - Jun 16, 2026
- Protected: Garden of May Chapter 150 - Jun 16, 2026
